Another Reason to Suck It Up and Buy a Minivan

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One of the great enduring myths created by the American auto industry is that SUVs are safer than regular cars. The Ford Explorer rollover scandals in 2000 helped pierce this image a little, but Americans still seem to believe that an SUV is a safe place to store a family on the road. (The Frost children, in fact, who’ve been attacked by right wingers during the SCHIP debate were nearly killed when the family SUV slid off the road and hit a tree.)

The data, however, continue to show that most people would be safer in a Mini Cooper (or a minivan) than a Chevy Trailblazer. The latest news comes from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, whose new crash tests show that most SUVs perform poorly when hit from the side, even though they’re much higher off the ground than other cars.

“People often think they’re safer in one of these vehicles, but many cars hold up better than some of these midsize SUVs in this test,” David Zuby, the institute’s senior vice president, told the Associated Press.

Fact:

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